• Support Material Type:
  • Learner Section

Instructions

1. Go to the page Documenting Research
2. First, go over the section at the top called: "Why Document Your Work?" and discuss or think about:
   • What are some reasons you may want to use multimedia (text, images, movies and sound) to document your research?
   • What are some ways you have used multimedia to document research in the past?
   • When you tell a story what are your favorite ways of communicating (e.g. what types of media do you prefer to communicate your message)?
3. Next, review the sections below:
   • Written Documentation
   • Visual Documentation
   • Audio Documentation

Review the Text (Written) Documentation Section

Discussion 

• What type of information do you think would go into the three types of written documentation listed (science journal, personal journal and formal report)?
• Why do you think each type of documentation is necessary or advantageous?
• What types of written documentation have you done before, what are your opinions and preferences?

Activity

• Visit some of the example sites in the Text Section of Documenting Your Work. What is being documented with text?
• Set up your own science journal, labeling pages for research ideas, hypotheses and research process steps.
• Brainstorm some things you might be interested in researching and write them down/share.

Review the Visual Documentation Section

Discussion 

• What kind of media would you prefer when learning about something? Do you think visual media adds to your learning experience?
• Why might scientists want to use visual media?
• What is your experience with digital cameras? Have you used a digital camera and then loaded pictures onto a computer?
• What is your skill with drawing? Do you consider yourself a good illustrator? Do you draw from observation or from your own imagination (or both)?

Activity

• Visit some of the example sites in the Visual Section of Documenting Your Work. What is being documented with images/video?
• What are some organisms that you could study that would be easy for you to document visually? What are some organisms that you would like to document visually? Write them down/share.
• Go on a brief in-classroom (or at home) scavenger hunt to take a digital picture of the following items in some form, or, if no camera is available draw the following:
  • an animal
  • a piece of scientific equipment
  • a science journal
  • a plant

Review the Audio Documentation Section

Discussion

• Why might recording sounds of organisms be very useful for research and for presenting information?
• What other audio documentation might be good to communicate a message?
• Do you have experience recording sounds?

Activity

• Visit some of the example sites in the Audio Section of Documenting Your Work. What is being documented with audio?
• What are some organisms that you could study that would be good for audio documentation?
• What are some organisms that you would like to document visually? Write them down/share.

Final Activity

• Create the chart below in your notebook, or use the handout of this chart (see support materials below). The top columns should represent the different types of media that could be collected. You can use the projects listed here and/or generate projects that you are interested in pursuing.
• Work individually, in a pair or a group to brainstorm the types of media you would use and why.  Share as a class and fill in the chart.
• During the discussion remind yourself that the point of documenting research is not just to make a pretty presentation, but to show others what they did, how and why they did it, and what they discovered. Challenge yourself and others to explain why you/they chose the types of media (both form and content) that they have brainstormed.

Support Materials

• Worksheet Documenting Research Brainstorming Table

Information on the Internet

• Documenting Your Work